Means for automatically feeding printed forms into a typewriter



Dec. 12, 1933. z LEwls 1,938,703

MEANS FOR AUTOMATICALLY FEEDING PRINTED FORMS INTO A TYPEWRITER FiledOct. 28, 1925 2 Sheets-S heet- 1 jfiwerotolf' I JdwwxZ-Z.1Ieu 1is,

E. Z. LEWIS Dec. 12,' 1933.

MEANS FOR AUTOMATICALLY FEEDING PRINTED FORMS INTO A TYPEWRITER FiledOct. 28, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Dec. 12, 1933 PATENT orrlcaMEANS FOR AUTOMATICALLY F E E D I N PRINTED FORMS INTO A TYPEWRITEREdward Z. Lewis, Chicago, 111.

Application October 28,

20 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in means for automaticallyfeeding small printedv forms into a typewriter.

The object of the invention is to provideimproved means whereby theseforms, arranged in a pile, may be placed on the typewriter and by merelyrotating the platen the bottom sheet is withdrawn from the pile,following the platen around to typewriting position and after thetypewriting is completed is returned to the top of the pile ordischarged from the machine, while the succeeding form is being drawnaround the platen to typing position.

The accompanying drawings illustrate one embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a typewriter; Fig. 2 is an enlarged endviewof the feeding mechanism;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a pile of paper slips showing itsrelation to the platen;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the novel mechanism associated with theplaten;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged section. through the platen; Fig. 6 is a similarsection with the platen moved to a different position, and Fig. '1 showsa modified form.

The device may be built as a part of or attached to any typewriter, theparticular machine 10 shown in the drawings being intended merely forillustrative purposes. The usual typewriter platen 11 is mounted on ashaft 12 and has the usual knurled knob 13 on the end for rotating it byhand. 14 is the rear of the ordinary typewriter carriage supporting abox or partial enclosure 15 holding the stack or pile of sheets of paper16. -In the form shown in the drawings, these sheets of paper may beassumed to be printed forms which are folded over once and each has apair of openings 17, punched therein. The box15 is of such size as toloosely embrace the pile of forms on three sides, the bottom formresting on the platen. A pair of projections or fingers 18 are caused toproject from the platen, pointing in the direction of rotation of thelatter, as shown in Fig. 5, and engage the holes 1'? in the lowermostdouble sheet as the platen is rotated in the direction shown by thearrow. These fingers are secured to a small shaft 19 which may extendalong the platen, preferably just below the surface in a longitudinalgroove, with one end mounted in an opening in the metal plate 20 at oneend, the other end passing through and projecting from an openmg in anarm 21 at the other end. Said plate 1929. Serial No. 402,870

and arm turn with the'platen. This projecting end has on it an arm 22(Fig. 2) fixed wit to turn with it, and a spring 23 connected to saidarm 22 is arranged to hold the shaft 19in such position that the fingers18 normally lie in a pair of small circumferential grooves 24 in theplaten so that the fingers do not project above the surface.

In order to cause the fingers 18 to project above the surface of theplaten at the proper time, i. e. when in the position shown in dottedlines in Fig. 5, a stationary plate 25 is provided at one end of theplaten, one side of which is engaged by the rear part of said arm 22 asthe platen is rotated, thereby rocking the shaft 19 against the actionof the spring 23, thus lifting said fingers as they slide along thesurface of the lowermost sheet of paper and directing the ends of saidfingers accurately to the holes in the bottom sheet in the pile 16,which necessitates holding them away from the surface of the platenduring a small part of the rotation thereof.

.After the arms 18 engage the holes in the paper, the arm 22 reaches the.end of the guide plate 25 and the fingers 18 snap back to the surfaceof the platen, holding the paper against Ashe platen. Thus the continuedrotation of the platen by hand, and in the'same direction, draws thepaper around between the platen and the pan 26, (Fig. 6) to the usualtypewriting position in front of the platen, where it is engaged by feedrollers 26' located at the usual distance below the typing line. As thetypewriting proceeds, the platen is rotated 'step by step in the usualmanner (although this device is particularly adapted to one line work)and when the upper edge of the paper reaches a certain height thefingers 18 are again raised aboye the surface of the platen and quicklysnap back, which movement disengages said paper from said fingers, ashereinafter described. This movement of the fingers is caused by theengagement of the arm 22.with a pin 27 also mounted on the same plate 28on which the small cam shaped plate 25 is mounted.

A gear 29 is mounted on the platen shaft 12,

gages with an idler pinion 30 which in turn engages pinion 31 on a shaft32 passing through said plate 28 and carrying feed rollers 33 thereon,engaged by a second feed roller 34. Each idler feed roller 34 ismounted-on a hinged plate 35, the lower end'of which is turned outwardlyto aid in guiding the paper between the feed rollers, and the upper endof which is hinged to preferably just outside of the plate 28 and en- 7a frame 36 arranged to slide back and forth on a bar 3'7 suitablysupported at its opposite ends. The paper, as stated, is fed upwardly byrotation of the platen to the feed rollers 33 and 34, being thrownforwardly, during such upward movement, against the lower ends of saidhinged plates, which guide them between said feed rollers. The paper,due to its resiliency tends to straighten out more or less in any caseand assume a position tangential with respect to the platen, except asit is compelled by the ends of the fingers 18 to follow the curve ofsaid platen. As said fingers swing away from said platen to the dottedline position shown in Fig. 6, the paper assumes a vertical positionagainst said hinged plates and substantially tangential to the platenand in this position the holes 1'7 near the top of the folded sheet aresomewhat higher relatively, than the tips of said fingers 18 so thatwith continued rotation of said platenand in view of the increased anglebetween said fingers and said vertical sheet, said fingers are withdrawnfrom said holes. After the typewriting of a sheet is finished, furtherrotation of the platen results in feeding said sheet back onto the topof the pile as will be apparent from Fig. 6, or it may be discharged ina forwardly direction or in any other direction and withdrawn from themachine by hand. With the apparatus shown, the operator gives the platena rapid turn after the printing operation thus rotating the rollers 33and 34 at a rapid rate and throwing the paper back on top of the pile.

By folding the paper in the manner shown, there is an unperforated spanof paper above each pair of openings and therefore between each of twoadjacent perforated layers of paper, which prevents the fingers fromprojecting too far through the openings. In the case of thin flexiblecards, however, it is apparent that the end of the fingers may be soshaped as to engage the walls of the opening without projecting throughfar enough to draw down two cards at a time, and where the folded formsconsist of several parts, the only one necessary to punch with holes isthe bottom part.

The pile of forms, as will be seen, rests on the platen, the rotation ofthe platen tending to move the horizontal sheets away from the operatorand against the rear wall of the guide 15. The bottom sheet of the pilebeing always horizontal no special appliances are necessary to hold saidsheet in that position as the previous sheet is being drawn around theplaten, the tendency of the rotating platen being to press the foldededge of said bottom sheet against said vertical rear wall. Many paperfeeding devices require special means to cause the sheet next to theoutside sheet of a pile of paper to remain in position and not travelalong with the outside sheet, whereas in my construction this result isaccomplished as stated, without special equipment.

It is desirable to place a sheet of paper of different color on top ofthe pile before beginning the typewriting, this colored sheet when itpasses around the platen in its turn serving to warn the operator thatthe pilev has been completely typed.

In as much as there are always the same numof the machine and laid toone side after each one was typed.

The cycle of operations is such that at the completion of .thetypewriting operations, the sheets of paper are in the pile in the sameorder as they were originally, that is to say thesheet originally at thebottom of the pile is at the bottom of the finished pile, thetypewriting appearing on the top of each sheet.

Instead of punching holes in the underfiap of the folded sheet, it isevident that other arrangements may be employed to insure engagement ofthe fingers 18 with said sheet. For example, in Fig. 7, I have shown amodified arrangement wherein the folded fiap is provided with a pair ofslots 38, instead of holes, the inner end of the slots being engaged bythe fingers in the manner previously described. Also it will be apparentthat an ordinary pile of envelopes placed on the platen face up willhave the flaps engaged by said fingers and fed around the platen one ata time. The operation may be facilitated by cutting a special fiaphaving end portions parallel to the long edges of the envelope insteadof inclined with .reference thereto.

While the device may be used for typewriting as many lines on each sheetas may be required, the machine is particularly adapted for use withprinted duplicate forms where one line of typing only is necessary. Halfa dozen carbon copies, or

.any number within the practical limits of the machine may bemade, theadjacent sheets having carbon backs and the folded flaps being nestedinto each other. To speed the operation a ratchet may be used whichrotates the platen a complete turn-instead of the usual partial rotationat the time the carriage is thrown back to initial position. Thus bythrowing back the carriage the platen is rotated sufllciently to throwthe finished sheet on top-of the pile automatically and draw anothersheet around to exact typing position thereby reducing the manipulationof the machine very greatly, and accomplishing all of the operationsexcept typing by one motion.

What I claim is:

1. The combination of a typewriter platen, means associated therewithfor confining a pile of sheets of paper adjacent said platen and movablemeans on said platen facing in the direction of rotation of thelatter-and rotating therewith for positively engaging and removing thelowermost sheet of said pile and causing it to rotate with said platento typewriting position.-

2. The combination of a typewriter platen having a recess therein, meansassociated with said platen for confining a pile of sheets of paperadjacentsaid platen, and movable means on said platen for securing thelowermost sheet of said pile to said platen and causing it to rotatewith said platen to typewriting position, said means comprising a shafthaving a finger mounted thereon in said'recess and means for effectingthe movement of said finger outwardly beyond the surface of said platenand inwardly below said surface.

3. The combination with a typewriter having a platen with recesses and alongitudinal groove in its surface, of a shaft in said groove, aplurality of fingers on said shaft one positioned in each recess beneaththe periphery of said platen, and means cooperating with said shaftduring the rotation of said platen for moving said shaft to swing saidfingers from and into said recesses.

4. The combination with a typewriter having a platen with a longitudinalgroove in its surface,

of a shaft in said groove projecting beyond the end of said platen, afinger'on said shaft extending in the direction of rotation of saidplaten, a rocker arm on the projecting end of said shaft, and meansengaged by said arm during the rotation of said platen for rocking saidshaft to raise and lower said finger with respect to the surface of saidplaten.

5. The combination -of a typewriter having a platen with a longitudinalshaft below its surface and projecting beyond the end of said platen, afinger on said shaft extending in the direction of rotation of thesurface of said platen, a rocker arm on the projecting end of saidshaft, and a plurality of fixed means engaged by said arm successivelyduring the rotation of said platen in one direction only for rockingsaid shaft at different points during such rotation.

6. In combination with a typewriter platen having a recess therein,paper engaging means in said recess movable above the surface ofsaidplaten from beneath the same for engaging and disengaging a sheet ofpaper at predetermined points in therotation thereof, means for causingsuch movement of said engaging means, and feed rollers, one of which isconnected to said platen to be driven thereby for conveying said paperfrom said platen after the disengagement of the paper by said engagingmeans.

' 7. In combination with a platen having paper engaging means mountedthereon below the surface thereof capable of swinging above said surfacefor engaging a sheet of paper or disengaging the same,'means for causingsuch swinging move-- ment, a shaft parallel to said platen having a feedroller thereon, a second feed roller yieldingly held against said firstfeed roller for conveying said paper from said'platen after thedisengagement thereof by said engaging means, gears connecting one endof said shaft with one end of said platen for rotating the former whensaid platen is rotated, and means adjacent said feed roller forsupporting a pile of sheets of paper on said platen in position forsuccessive engagement by said engaging means.

8. In a typewriter attachment, means actuated by rotation of the platenfor holding thereto the bottom one of a pile of paper forms resting ontop of said platen, means for retaining the remaining forms of the pilein fixed position, means guiding said bottom form to typing position,and means for depositing the: typed form on the top of said pile.

9. The combination of a typewriter platen, means associated therewithfor confining a pile of sheets of paper above said platen, movable meanson said platen for clamping to said platen the lowermost sheet of saidpile and causing it to rotate with said platen to typing position, and

-means including gears and auxiliary rollers for accelerating themovement of said form and withdrawing it from said platen.

10. The combination'of a typewriter platen, means associated therewithfor confining a pile of sheets of paper adjacent said platen, movablemeans on said platen for clamping to said platen the nearest sheet ofsaid pile and causing it to rotate with said platen to typing position,and means for simultaneously guiding the previously typed sheet awayfrom said typing position to the remote side of said pile.

11. The combination of a typewriter platen, means associated therewithfor confining a pile of sheets of paper above said platen and to therear of a vertical plane tangential with the front thereof, movablemeans on said platen and rotating therewith for clamping to said platenthe lowermost sheet of said pile for removing'the same therefrom andcausing it to rotate with said platen substantially three quarters of acomplete revolution to typing position, and means in front of and abovethe typing line to guide the finished sheets upwardly from the front ofsaid platen.

12. In a typewriter, a rotatable platen, means carried thereby forremoving at each revolution the bottom form of a pile of small foldedformsthat are resting on the top of said platen, means forguiding saidforms around into typing position, and means for guiding the typewrittenforms from the platen and to the top of the pile of forms.

13. The combination of a typewriter platen having a longitudinal groovein its face, of a shaft in said groove, a plurality of fingers on saidshaft, means cooperating with said shaft during the rotation of theplaten for moving the tips of said fingers in a horizontal directionfrom the point where they reach the topmost position, and means forsubsequently moving them toward said platen.

14. The combination of a typewriter platen having a longitudinal groovein its face, of a shaft in said groove, a plurality of fingers on saidshaft, means cooperating with said shaft during the rotation of theplaten for moving the tips of said fingers in a horizontal directionfrom the point where they reach the topmost position,

platen, and means for quickly snapping said fingers out and back atanother position during the revolution of said platen.

15. In combination with a typewriter platen,

'means for subsequently moving them toward said a three side box holdinga pile of folded forms resting on the top of said platen, the bottomflap of each form having a perforation therein and a hook projectingfrom said platen in such a position as to engage a perforation at eachrevolution of said platen.

16. In combination with a typewriter platen, a three side box holding apile of folded forms resting on the top of said platen, the bottom flapof each form having a perforation therein and a hook projecting fromsaid platen in such a position as to engage a perforation at eachrevolution of said platen, said hook having means to draw it into saidplaten instantly after engaging said perforation.

17. The combination of a typewriter having a platen, of a shaft beneaththe surface of said platen, a plurality of fingers on said shaftarranged in recesses in said surface and means cooperating with saidshaft during the rotation of said platen for moving the ends of saidfingers away from and toward the surface of said platen twice duringeach revolution.

18. The combination with a typewriter platen,-

of auxiliary feed rollers propelled by said platen, and means associatedwith said platen for automatically, during one revolution of the platen,re-

moving the bottom sheet of a pile of forms rest- 7 effecting a completerevolution of said platen,

-in'g thereon, clamping the form to the platen thereby carrying it'totyping position, releasing means carried by said platen for engagingsheets of paper and causing them to follow said platen for more thanhalf a revolution, feed rollers located to engage said sheets after aone line typing operation, and positioned to feed said sheets towardtheir initial storage position, and driving means for said feed rollersoperated by the rotav tion of said platen.

20. In a typewriter, a platen, means for guiding a sheet of paper aroundsaid platen, means on said platen for engaging the bottom sheet of a

